Delah Coffee Franchise
Cost, fees, owner earnings, closure rate and litigation for a Delah Coffee franchise — pulled from the franchisor's own public FDD (2026), not its sales material.
Disclosure honesty
Delah Coffee discloses earnings (Item 19) — but the grade is how honestly. We graded it C.
What their own earnings claim actually says
Company-owned outlet gross sales, direct gross profit, disclosed expenses (rent, credit card fees, utilities, marketing), and select franchise-related expenses for 2024-2025. Does not include all operating costs.
What a Delah Coffee franchise actually costs to run
| Fee | Disclosed | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $35,000 | Item 5 — paid up front, before you open |
| Royalty | 4.5% of gross sales | Item 6 — charged on revenue, not profit |
| Advertising fund | 1% of gross sales | Item 6 — brand marketing, spent at the franchisor's discretion |
| Total recurring fees | 5.5% of gross sales | Before rent, labor, food or debt service |
| Total initial investment | $337,300 – $494,000 | Item 7 — franchisor's own low/high estimate |
Royalty 4.5% weekly; Brand Dev Fund up to 2% (currently waived); Local marketing 1% monthly required.
Royalty and ad-fund percentages are charged on gross sales — an owner pays them whether or not the location is profitable.
Delah Coffee system size and owner turnover
| Total outlets | 6 |
| Ceased operations | 1 |
| Terminated by franchisor | 0 |
| Transferred to new owners | 0 |
| Closure rate | 16.7% of outlets |
3 franchised outlets opened 2025; only company-owned data disclosed. Minimal franchise track record.
From Item 20 of the FDD 2026. Terminations and ceased operations are the franchisor's own count of owners who stopped — the number the sales pitch leaves out.
Is Delah Coffee worth it? — how it compares to 32 similar franchises
| Ongoing fees | 5.5% of sales | lower than most (median 8%) |
| Startup cost | from $337,300 | about average (median $350,000) |
| Disclosure honesty | Grade C | typical for the category |
| Closure rate | 16.7% of outlets | worse than 90% of peers |
| Disclosed lawsuits | 1 | more litigious than 75% of peers |
Benchmarked against every coffee & donuts franchise we've graded from public FDDs — the context the franchisor's pitch never gives you.
Owner take-home for a Delah Coffee
The franchisor's framing: Company-owned outlet gross sales, direct gross profit, disclosed expenses (rent, credit ca… We reconstruct what an owner actually keeps, from their own FDD.
- Reconstructed owner P&L — net take-home after royalty, ad fund, rent, labor & debt
- Break-even timeline + cash-on-cash ROI
- Full fee stack + required-purchase markups
- Decoded real failure / closure rate
- How it ranks vs comparable franchises
- Validation-call playbook — the exact questions to ask
See a full sample report → · 30-day guarantee
Delah Coffee franchise — frequently asked
- How much does a Delah Coffee franchise cost?
- The FDD lists a total initial investment of about $337,300–$494,000, including a $35,000 initial franchise fee.
- How much do Delah Coffee franchise owners make?
- Company-owned outlet gross sales, direct gross profit, disclosed expenses (rent, credit card fees, utilities, marketing), and select franchise-related expenses for 2024-2025. Does not include all operating costs. We grade this disclosure C for honesty.
- What are the Delah Coffee franchise fees?
- Delah Coffee's FDD discloses a $35,000 initial franchise fee, a 4.5% royalty on gross sales, a 1% advertising-fund contribution, for roughly 5.5% of gross sales in recurring fees before rent, labor, or debt service. Royalty 4.5% weekly; Brand Dev Fund up to 2% (currently waived); Local marketing 1% monthly required.
- What is the Delah Coffee franchise profit margin?
- Delah Coffee does not publish a franchisee net-profit margin — almost no franchisor does. What Item 19 actually shows: Company-owned outlet gross sales, direct gross profit, disclosed expenses (rent, credit card fees, utilities, marketing), and select franchise-related expenses for 2024-2025. Does not include all operating costs. Recurring fees alone take about 5.5% of gross sales, before rent, labor, food or debt service. Margin has to be reconstructed from the disclosure, not read off it.
- What is the Delah Coffee franchise failure rate?
- 3 franchised outlets opened 2025; only company-owned data disclosed. Minimal franchise track record.
- How many Delah Coffee locations are there?
- Delah Coffee's FDD reports 6 total outlets, with 1 that ceased operations in the most recent reporting year and 0 transferred to new owners. Item 20 is where system health shows up before the marketing does.
- Does Delah Coffee have complaints or lawsuits?
- Delah Coffee discloses 1 legal matter in Item 3 of its FDD. Item 3 covers the franchisor's litigation history, which is the closest thing to a public record of how it treats franchisees — read the case descriptions, not just the count.
- Is a Delah Coffee franchise worth it?
- It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. Delah Coffee scores C on disclosure honesty, carries about 5.5% of sales in ongoing fees, and discloses 1 legal matters. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
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Compare Delah Coffee to similar franchises
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Source: MN CARDS 36570-202605-11 (Clean FDD 2026). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with Delah Coffee or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.